21738 Zip Code Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for the zip code 21738, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

21738 is a zip code in Howard County, Maryland, which covers District 3, West Friendship, District 4, and Lisbon, with a total population of 4,185 people.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in the 21738 zip code. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in 21738.

The estimated population of people living in 21738 is 4,185, with a median age of 44.4.

We can look back at data from previous years to see how the population in the 21738 area has changed over the last 5 years.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
4,185
+8.39%
+16.12%
2020
3,861
+0.89%
-
2019
3,827
+12.03%
-
2018
3,416
 -5.22% -
2017
3,604
 - -

Population of 21738 by Race and Ethnicity

How much has the race and ethnicity of the population in the 21738 zip code changed? The US Census Bureau gives us a few defined types that the population is broken down into.

Let's look at the total numbers and also the change over the last 5 years.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
91.9%
82.5%
 +11.39%
Black/African American
2%
1.1%
 +81.82%
Native
0%
2%
 -100.00%
Hispanic
0.4%
0.9%
 -55.56%
Asian
1.9%
12.1%
 -84.30%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.7%
1%
 +170.00%
Other
1.1%
0.4%
 +175.00%

This data can be very important for anybody studying the 21738 zip for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of 21738 by Age and Gender

We can also monitor the change of the age and gender in the 21738 zip code to track track trends in the population over time.

We can see how the population in 21738 has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 44.4 -3.69% 45.8 -1.29% 42.4 -7.42%
2020 46.1 +4.06% 46.4 +5.45% 45.8 +2.92%
2019 44.3 -0.67% 44 +4.51% 44.5 -3.89%
2018 44.6 -0.67% 42.1 -12.29% 46.3 +4.99%
2017 44.9 - 48 - 44.1 -

The median age of the 21738 zip gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population in the 21738 area, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 201 +42.53% 182 +59.57% 278 273
10 to 19 255 +24.91% 447 -0.030000000000003% 302 427
20 to 29 168 +16.36% 94 +96.51% 185 195
30 to 39 67 +80.12% 177 -18.52% 132 141
40 to 49 184 +19.22% 214 +13.23% 207 229
50 to 59 393 9.41% 415 +16.2% 388 465
60 to 69 264 -18.64% 174 +10.49% 217 192
70+ 130 +118.55% 239 -9.34% 350 204

Median Household Income

The latest median household income for the 21738 zip code is $230,250.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less.

The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for 21738.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $250,001.00
  • 45 to 64
    $250,001.00
  • 65 and over
    $179,032.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in the 21738 zip code, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in 21738, and then dividing that number by the total number of households.

This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of 21738 is currently $243,397.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

60.26% of households in 21738 are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of 21738 against other zip codes.

  • Less than $24,999
    0.00%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    6.23%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    0.99%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    10.56%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    7.75%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    14.21%
  • $200,000 or more
    60.26%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in 21738 is $77,302.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of 21738 by the total population of 21738.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people living in the 21738 area, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in 21738 to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    42.68%
  • Bachelor's degree
    47.85%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    1.38%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    7.32%
  • Less than high school diploma
    0.77%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in 21738 that are over the age of 16.

Currently, the total population of the 21738 zip over the age of 16 is 3,240.

Of those people, a total of 63.90% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in 21738 is 61.50%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate. Here's how that breaks down for the 21738 zip code.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 335 32.80% 34.50%
20 to 24 years 260 86.50% 9.80%
25 to 29 years 120 100.00% 0.00%
30 to 34 years 105 87.60% 0.00%
35 to 44 years 394 91.10% 0.00%
45 to 54 years 752 82.80% 0.00%
55 to 59 years 311 66.90% 0.00%
60 to 64 years 222 62.20% 0.00%
65 to 74 years 480 34.40% 0.00%
75 years and over 261 11.90% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in 21738. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau (which we mentioned earlier in this article).

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 2,973 64.70% 3.00%
Black or African American 83 65.10% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0 0.00% 0.00%
Asian 81 27.20% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 55 100.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 48 33.30% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 16 100.00% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 2,973 64.70% 3.00%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations for people living in the 21738 area as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in 21738 is 1,993, with median earnings of $118,304.00.

Women in 21738 are earning approximately 42.50% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 1,993 $118,304.00
Male 1,132 $159,464.00
Female 861 $67,734.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings for 21738 even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 405 $145,089.00
Business and Financial 201 $101,641.00
Computer and Mathematical 214 $217,941.00
Architecture and Engineering 201 $166,370.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 60 $133,871.00
Community and Social Service 0 $0.00
Legal 10 $0.00
Educational and Library 146 $60,962.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 0 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 184 $104,200.00
Healthcare Support 16 $0.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 27 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 46 $4,844.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 0 $0.00
Personal Care and Service 130 $6,844.00
Sales 126 $60,833.00
Office and Administrative Support 121 $27,458.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 30 $81,250.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 0 $0.00
Production 15 $0.00
Transportation and Material Moving 19 $0.00

Occupations by Gender

Now we can also look at the occupations by category for 21738 when it is broken down by male and female.

This lets us see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings for 21738.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 263 $175,337.00 142 $111,786.00
Business and Financial 169 $135,156.00 32 $73,750.00
Computer and Mathematical 166 $223,214.00 48 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 201 $166,370.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 47 $0.00 13 $0.00
Community and Social Service 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Legal 10 $0.00 0 $0.00
Educational and Library 14 $0.00 132 $44,667.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 21 $0.00 163 $103,150.00
Healthcare Support 0 $0.00 16 $0.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 27 $0.00 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 38 $0.00 8 $0.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Personal Care and Service 0 $0.00 130 $6,844.00
Sales 39 $0.00 87 $60,347.00
Office and Administrative Support 31 $0.00 90 $47,500.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 30 $81,250.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Production 15 $0.00 0 $0.00
Transportation and Material Moving 19 $0.00 0 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household is defined by the US Census Bureau as a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 1,316 households in 21738, with an average household size of 3.18 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 1,179 families living in the 21738 zip code with an average family size of 3.38 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each, that live in 21738:

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 1,135 7 37 137
Average Household Size 3.42 4.86 3.03 1.17
Total Families 1,135 7 37 0
Average Household Size 3.38 4.86 3.03 0

Poverty

Of the 1,179 families living in 21738, 1.20% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in 21738:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 1,325 housing units in 21738.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 1,316 99.32%
Vacant 9 0.68%

1.43% of the total 1,325 housing units in 21738 are rental units. This is approximately 19 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 1,275 are occupied by the owner - or 96.23% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in 21738 is $0.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in 21738 that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    22
  • Less than $500
    0
  • $500 to $999
    0
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    19
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in 21738 is $715,100.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in 21738 that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    0
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    0
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    38
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    0
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    0
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    78
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    943
  • $1,000,000 or more
    216

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in 21738. The chart below shows the number of properties in 21738 that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    92
  • 1940 to 1949
    0
  • 1950 to 1959
    35
  • 1960 to 1969
    10
  • 1970 to 1979
    248
  • 1980 to 1989
    299
  • 1990 to 1999
    361
  • 2000 to 2009
    233
  • 2010 to 2013
    47
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in 21738 that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    0
  • 1 vehicle available
    123
  • 2 vehicles available
    587
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    606

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in 21738 get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in 21738 that commute to work in a particular way.

36.4 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in 21738.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    16
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    45
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    63
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    31
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    273
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    158
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    378
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    43
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    84
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    274
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    191
  • 90 or more minutes
    63

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for 21738 in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

States in 21738

If you want to see how the population and demographics of 21738 compare to other zip codes in Maryland, check out the list of all Maryland zip codes below: